Review: Infinitely Polar Bear

Set in the 70s, Mark Ruffalo plays a father two daughters with wife Zoe Saldana, and also happens to suffer from manic depression/bi-polar disorder. This is the story of the loving family’s struggle to stay together and make things work as best they can. But with Ruffalo’s wild mood swings and inability to land and keep a job, things start to strain, especially financially.

A really good, well-acted movie about a tricky subject, this 2014 drama from writer-director Maya Forbes (previously the writer of insignificant films like “The Rocker”, “Monsters vs. Aliens”, and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days”) clearly comes from a place of understanding and truth. This really, really could’ve gone in so many wrong directions, but because debut director Forbes is the daughter of a bi-polar father herself (also, her own daughter Imogene Wolodarsky plays Forbes’ role in the movie here), she mostly veers away from cliché, caricature, and the usual pitfalls in making a film about mental illness. The film has humorous moments, but Forbes and the film deserve credit for mostly doing this seriously. Although it’s actually a rather sweet story in its own way, it’s not your typically cutesy, clichéd Hollywood depiction of mental illness.

Forbes also deserves credit for showing that just because someone’s got a mental illness, you don’t just give up immediately and get a divorce, etc. This family tries damn bloody hard to stay together and try to work around Ruffalo’s limitations (if that’s the right word). ***** SPOILER ALERT ****** When things finally do go beyond repair, even then it’s less about Ruffalo’s bi-polar disorder and more just the difficulty Zoe Saldana has in finding a job locally and desperately needing to make money. It’s actually a really terrific finale in that respect because it’s somewhat unexpected but completely believable. ***** END SPOILER ***** This is a grown-up, thoughtful movie right here. I especially liked how it doesn’t sugar-coat the Ruffalo character, whilst also not erasing his likeability. It’s a tricky balance but Forbes and Ruffalo navigate it safely. This is his film as much as Forbes, it’s easily one of his best-ever performances. Zoe Saldana is terrific as usual as a woman who accepts who her husband is and tries her best to work around it, and not just for the kids. She clearly does have love for her husband. Some might question her decision to leave the kids under Ruffalo’s supervision, but given the situation they’re all in, and what she needs to do to provide for her family when no one else is capable of it, it’s at least plausible within the boundaries set up in the film. So I think that’s fair enough. Ruffalo’s got the hardest role to navigate, and if he weren’t up to it, the film would be far lesser. Thankfully he brings his A-game (without overdoing the tics and mannerisms that made him so unbearable to me early in his screen career) and anchors the film playing a guy the film in no way paints as a saint. The guy has mood swings and isn’t given a total free pass just because he can’t help it.

Rock-solid, clearly heartfelt family drama about mental illness from a filmmaker with some actual knowledge of the subject. Both lead actors are to be commended for getting into their characters’ respective skin seemingly from moment one, and the film has a genuine ring of authenticity about it. It never tries to get too quirky or cute, it’s nice but there’s also a bit of grit to it. Definitely worth seeking out if you missed it at the time of release like I did (The title alone probably put a few people off, as it’s oh-so quirky and indie-sounding. It kept me away from it for several years).

Rating: B-